The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to methods and system for image detection.
Imaging systems are widely used to capture images of objects. For example, diagnostic images of a person or an animal may be obtained to assist a doctor or other health care professional in making an accurate diagnosis. Another example includes imaging luggage, shipping containers, and/or the like for security and/or industrial inspection applications. Imaging systems often include an energy source and detectors. Energy, for example x-rays, produced by the source travel through the object being imaged and are detected by the detectors. In response thereto, the detectors produce analog electrical signals that represents the sensed energy. Analog-to-digital (A/D) converters typically sample the analog data received from the detector(s) and convert the data to digital signals for subsequent processing and image reconstruction. The A/D converters may be components of the detectors or may be components of a controller that performs the subsequent processing and/or image reconstruction.
To conserve electrical power when an imaging system is not in use, portions of the electronics such as the A/D converters within an imaging system may be powered down when the imaging system is not in use. For example, digital sections (e.g., a digital clock) of the A/D converters may not be supplied with electrical power when the imaging system is idle. The portions of the A/D converters that have been powered down must be powered back up to perform an imaging scan of an object. The A/D converters experience an increase in temperature when the A/D converters are powered up. In some situations, the A/D converters do not reach their normal operating temperature range until after at least a portion of the imaging scan has been performed. However, the temperature of the A/D converters affects the gain of the A/D converters, and/or associated electronics such as a photodiode. Accordingly, the A/D converters may have different gains at different times during the imaging scan, which may cause errors within the resulting image and/or may result in lower image quality.